![]() Likewise, the hilarity of its performances is more evident now than ever, from the late Mel Smith’s wheezy Albino, to the incompetent bishop played by Peter Cook (“Mawage. Perhaps Prince Humperdinck is compensating for something. Where previously the epic romance of Westley and Buttercup, alongside daring duels and Rodents Of Unusual Size, held my gaze, today it seems that the Man in Black could give the rapid-tongued spy himself a run for his money (“There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. I recently felt a similar experience blowing the cobwebs off my James Bond collection, finding myself both aghast and in stitches at the biting comedy (“You always were a cunning linguist, James.”) that simply danced over my head in younger days. It can often be startling to re-watch childhood favourites as an adult, and what normally strikes one first is the humour. The occasion also happened to be the thirtieth anniversary of the film’s release in 1987, and yet it felt as though I was watching it for the very first time. ![]() Still, while undoubtedly making for a cleaner watch, there is a bittersweet nostalgia to the grains and lines of a much-loved home video that should never be forgotten. Yesterday, feeling the angst of essays and the looming return to Cambridge, my mother and I watched The Princess Bride again, swapping out the now-exhausted VHS for the glorious Special Edition. "Maybe the film's appeal is just how unafraid it is to present the harsh realities beneath its sugary surface." Like the grandson at the opening, I had no idea of what lay in store. This was, as it turned out, a very different sort of adventure to the ones we had been on together previously, one of fencing, revenge, true love, and miracle-making. I owe my mother credit for much of my early film watching experiences, many of which have developed into full-blown autograph-grabbing obsessions, from the plains of Middle Earth to galaxies far, far away. ![]() Having bound myself tightly to the sofa under my duvet, I sipped hot lemon and honey as my mother put a VHS tape in the recorder and, once the film had been rewound (of course), pressed play. It was a cold and rainy morning, and I had the most dreadful cold an eight-year-old can know.
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